Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-11-10
WEIGHT OF TOOLS.

WEIGHT OF TOOLS.
What Comparatively Insignificant TRIES
Amount to On the Farm.
Few stop to think what q sum total
Is made up at the end OF the year by
matters trifing in themselves. Some;
fault with a machine. or with the tools
used on the farm. hinders-perhaps
only in . very slight degree-the work
done each day. and the fact that it de-
lays the work SO little is the reason
why it does not receive the attention
it should; yet this daily loss of time
counts up surprisingly by the end Of
the season. The man and team. By
reason Of an inferior pillow or reaper:
may lose enough time each day. or &C.
complish enough less work to pay the
cost of new one. if the account is
made up at the end of the season.
An Eastern farmer brings up this
point in the weights of the tools used,
and says:
Few farmers l suspect there are who
stop to consider the weight of the tools
they work with unless perchance they
are unusually heavy. But if tho mat
ter is considered at all it is easily evi.
dent that very little extra weight a
very little more than is needed. handled
over many times day must exhaust
q good deal Of muscle that could be
better expended. To illustrate, if a
tool is but three ounces heavier than
it need to be, and many of them are
much more than that and . man
handles this three ounces but once in
a minute, in sixty minutes. or one hour.
he will have handled $50 ounces more
than is necessary, and in ten hours.
1.8O0 ounces, or about 112 pounds that
is superfuous. This is but light IL
lustration. both as to the weight of the
tool and the time it is handled in. but
it shows little things count up-the i'm
portance of trifles The farm
er, of all men. needs to
economic muscle and put every
fiber of it where it will show in the
crops. Look we'll to your tools, farm
er. when you buy them. and see that
they are just heavy enough, and no
more. 1t will be better for you in
more ways than one. You will get
more work out of your help. more out
of your horses. and it will oil be done
pleasanter
In order to make it a pleasure to
work." the first requisite is a tool in
good condition, and easy to work.
And besides these points gained, there
is yet another benefit to be derived
from a careful discrimination of the
farmer in buying his tools; for such
discrimination will in due season cause
reform among the manufacturers of
farm implements, who will see to it
that the farmer, who ''feeds ALL" has
what he wants. 1t may be thought
that in these times we get well-nigh
perfect tools any way; but l believe
there is still room for improvement
here. and it lies in the direction of
making lot of tools nearer uniform
in weight Truly, some men want a
heavier tool than others, at least they
demand it. but when tool is heavy
enough to do the work, it should be
made not even one ounce heavier, and
its companions should not vary from
it II the brawny man wants mora
weight than such q tool possesses. 1t
is. absurd, because even he can do
mbfe work in a day with the light
tool: and do it easier; and, not least
in Importance. better. As it is. there
is great deal of difference in tools of
the same lot. Look at q package of
hoes. or shovels. for instance, and see
the difference. not only in their weight
but IN the way they chang" chance
for another Improvement A proper
discrimination on the part of tho
farmer will in this particular. as in
other things. secure him his rights.
As the farmer must rely on trifles for
his margin, any slight improvement Of
this kind is worth looking to.-Na-
tional Livestock Journal.